Duncan Farrar Kenner (February 11, 1813 – July 3, 1887) was an American politician who served as a Deputy from

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

to the

Provisional Congress of the Confederate States The Provisional Congress of the Confederate States, also known as the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States of America, was a congress of Deputy (legislator), deputies and Delegate (American politics), delegates called together from th ...

from 1861 to 1862. In 1864, he served as the chief diplomat from the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

to Europe.

Biography

Douglas Farrar Kenner was born on February 11, 1813, in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

. His ancestors were from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

. Kenner was married to the former Anne Guillelmine Nanine Bringier (August 24, 1822 – November 6, 1911). They resided at the

Ashland Plantation Ashland Plantation, also known as the Belle Helene or Ashland-Belle Helene Plantation, is a historic building, built in 1841, that was a plantation estate and home of Duncan Farrar Kenner. Located in Darrow, Louisiana, in Ascension Parish. The ...

. Kenner was the owner of sugar plantations in Louisiana. He used scientific techniques and was said to be the first man in Louisiana to use a railroad to bring

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...

from the fields to the mill. He served as the President of the Louisiana Sugar Planters Association. He started his political career by working for

John Slidell John Slidell (1793July 9, 1871) was an American politician, lawyer, and businessman. A native of New York, Slidell moved to Louisiana as a young man and became a Representative and Senator. He was one of two Confederate diplomats captured by the ...

. He served for several terms in the

Louisiana House of Representatives The Louisiana House of Representatives (french: link=no, Chambre des Représentants de Louisiane) is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. This chamber is composed of 105 rep ...

and was a member of the state constitutional conventions of 1845 and 1852, having presided over the latter conclave. According to the US census of 1860, Kenner owned in excess of 600 slaves on his sugar plantations. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

of 1861–1865, he was a member of the

Confederate Congress The Confederate States Congress was both the provisional and permanent legislative assembly of the Confederate States of America that existed from 1861 to 1865. Its actions were for the most part concerned with measures to establish a new na ...

and chairman of its Ways and Means Committee. In 1862, he proposed a national income tax of 20%, including a schedule of exemptions. His tax bill went nowhere; but in April 1863, the Confederate Congress passed another act calling for a tax "in kind," payable with goods and agricultural produce rather than money, and based not on property but on agricultural produce and income it generated. In July 1862, while visiting with his family at

during a recess of the legislature, Kenner narrowly avoided capture by the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

, making his escape after being warned by one of his slaves of the advance of Union troops. By this time he had become convinced that the emancipation of slaves was the only way to gain independence for the Confederacy. In 1864, he was sent by

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as ...

as special commissioner to England and France to secure the recognition of the

Confederate States The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

. Davis, through Kenner, offered the

emancipation Emancipation generally means to free a person from a previous restraint or legal disability. More broadly, it is also used for efforts to procure economic and social rights, political rights or equality, often for a specifically disenfranch ...

of the Confederate

slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

in exchange for

diplomatic recognition Diplomatic recognition in international law is a unilateral declarative political act of a state that acknowledges an act or status of another state or government in control of a state (may be also a recognized state). Recognition can be accor ...

of the Confederacy by Britain and France. Following the

capture of New Orleans The capture of New Orleans (April 25 – May 1, 1862) during the American Civil War was a turning point in the war, which precipitated the capture of the Mississippi River. Having fought past Forts Jackson and St. Philip, the Union was ...

in 1862, much of his property was confiscated and his slaves were freed. After the war, Kenner regained his wealth. In 1877 he created the Louisiana Sugar Producer's Association, representing the largest planters in the state. He served as the president of the

World Cotton Centennial The World Cotton Centennial (also known as the World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition) was a World's Fair held in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States in 1884. At a time when nearly one third of all cotton produced in the United Sta ...

. He also served on the Boards of Directors of several banks. Ten years later, a few months after his death, the

Thibodaux Massacre The Thibodaux massacre was an episode of racial violence that occurred in Thibodaux, Louisiana on November 23, 1887. It followed a three-week strike during the critical harvest season in which an estimated 10,000 workers protested against the l ...

was carried out by Democratic paramilitaries in response to 10,000 sugar cane workers, 90% black, striking for three weeks, having been reverted almost to unpaid slave status. Kenner died on July 3, 1887. He was buried in a tomb in the Ascension of our Lord Catholic Church Cemetery in Donaldsonville,

Ascension Parish Ascension Parish (french: Paroisse de l'Ascension, es, Parroquia de Ascensión) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 126,500. Its parish seat is Donaldsonville. The parish was created ...

, Louisiana.

Thoroughbred racing

Kenner was fond of horses and established a breeding operation for Thoroughbred horses at his Ashland Plantation. He would become one of the first in the United States to establish a racing stable. For his contribution to

Thoroughbred racing Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing i ...

, following its formation in 1971 he was inducted into the

Fair Grounds Racing Hall of Fame The Fair Grounds Racing Hall of Fame was created in 1971 by the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the Un ...

. In 1880 he was a founding member of the New Louisiana Jockey Club and would serve as its president from 1886 until his death in 1887.Hall of Fame Members FINAL.pdf ''www.fairgroundsracecourse.com'' Fair Grounds Hall of Fame (120 members)

References

External links

*

at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations ...

Duncan Farrar Kenner Papers
at

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 n ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kenner, Duncan F. 1813 births 1887 deaths 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law American racehorse owners and breeders American planters American slave owners Burials at Ascension of our Lord Catholic Church Cemetery (Donaldsonville) Confederate States of America diplomats Deputies and delegates to the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States Lawyers from New Orleans Members of the Confederate House of Representatives from Louisiana Members of the Louisiana House of Representatives Politicians from New Orleans People of Louisiana in the American Civil War Recipients of American presidential pardons Signers of the Confederate States Constitution Signers of the Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States Sugar plantation owners